RSNA 2009 Attendance: What’s the Verdict?

This year’s RSNA meeting is winding down, and I still haven’t heard much of a verdict on attendance. Some vendor friends have estimated that it’s down 20%. The Society itself claims it’s hovering between 57,000 and 60,000, right around last year’s levels. I know I’ve been hearing a lot of foreign languages, and everyone seems to agree that international attendance is up. A Philips rep from Paris was kind enough to let my try out some of my college French on him (sample line: “Je blog le rencontre”) and it was his opinion that there are more radiologists here from France than from any other foreign country. And finally, I’m hearing that a lot of vendors brought smaller teams this year, an understandable response to a tough year in the industry. All I know is that I haven’t had any trouble getting a shuttle bus, and believe me, I ain’t complaining. How has attendance seemed to you?